If you take a point Paul makes and isolate it, it makes sense, but comes at a priceof rejecting the rest of scripture and truth.
If Christ has begun the good work of His faith in us as to the salvation of our souls, he will work in us to finish it till the last day. Christians will not enter judgment on the last day . That would be double jeopardy
A sinner is a different person than Gods Holy people.The question has always been, what is the real difference?
One has the eternal forgiven wage of sin applied ,as to "as man" the father has given the Son, the others hearts remain hard. It is God who alone can make our hearts soft. The key is “as many”.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
The sad reality is we are our experience and things we have programmed in to our lives.
Yes , we don’t walk after our experiences(walking by sight) We walk by His faith that comes from hearing Him.
Sinners are the result of internal unresolved conflicts which create inappropriate behaviour, which all societies identify as a problem.
Sinners are the result of being born into the world, spiritually separated from God and therefore no way to seek after Him so they could understand.This is regard to corrupted body that ages in a decay process leading toward as death and the returning to the dust they were formed from.
There is no work we can do to save us from our sin or maintain a relationship with God. We love him each time so that we then can love Him. He turn us towards Him so that them we can repent. To repent is a work of God working in us.If he does not first turn us as the first work no man could of his own volition.
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyesThis only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?Are ye so foolish? having “begun in the Spirit”, are ye now made perfect “by the flesh”? Gal 3:1
God declares this has all come about because we have rejected Him and live alone.
The man without the spirit cannot understand the things of the Spirit of Christ .Christians must compare the spiritual with the spiritual. We can Love Him only because he has given us eternal life. The Potter does with the lump of clay which his soul pleases. Rejecting one while having mercy on another.
But you do not become a saint overnight, and all the things you have learnt to dodo not miraculous change at gaining faith. There is no such thing as instant perfection.
Yes again
if He has begun the good work in us to both will and do his good pleasure he will finish it. We are to have no confidence in the flesh in respect to what we do experience. Going to church does not establish a person is a Christian.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
And that is the point. If faith alone changed us, the church would be full of perfect people walking perfect lives. So to follow Jesus is to commit to change and work which bears fruit in a different person being created. It is the desire we want to be different that inspires us to walk after Jesus, so to deny this is to deny why we are following. Unless of course you are happy as you are, you just want heaven as well, lol.
it is the faith of God alone that can create new creatures with a new eternal spirit and new heart in respect to the change he works in us.
We are blessed made happy as he works in us according to His faith. We can see the faith of Christ the Holy anointing Spirit of Godworking in Abraham to both will and do His good pleasure in the parable in James 2 below.
It is the work of Christ wrought in us that makes us complete in Him or perfect. He is the author and perfecter of His faith that works in us... making His faith perfect. It is not of our selves or Abraham could of boasted.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham justified by the work of Christ’s faith?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith (Christ’s) wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham “believed God”, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Jam 2:21
